THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 40 -
Emergence of slavery.
1
(Raphael) "What was the result of this? Look and listen: Nobody wanted to be his neighbor's servant any more, everyone worked and lived for himself in the end, and no one was to be had at any price for his neighbor's use. However, the people saw in the end that such a life is basically a quite severely wretched one. The oldest of the people saw this evil first because above all they had need for a service and held council on how they could be helped. A wisest among them said, 'The world is big; let us go out and check whether there are no people anywhere, who are poor and would gladly serve us for a good wage!' They went to Asia and soon found what they were searching for. However, the close small peoples of Asia soon noticed what went on with the very rich Egyptians, wandered about farther in the Asian lands and bought the servants in order to then sell them in Egypt more expensively. And see, that is how slavery and slave trade emerged, and they are commonplace almost everywhere nowadays. Can you praise such a fruit of the former, overly great general wisdom of the old Egyptians?
2
The actual old, wise Egyptians got clever through experience, but did not at any price initiate their servants into their deep wisdom; this would have soon easily turned their servants into rich people, who would not have enjoyed serving and working any more, and then the old, wise men would once more have had nobody, who would faithfully serve them and work for them as requested.
3
But have you seen slaves in India? Bought ones, that is? Certainly not! There are slaves of their own superstition which is bad, but not as bad as the business slavery! The sold and bought slaves are treated as pack animals and are kept away from any spiritual education for a long time. Their thing is: obeying blindly, enduring silently and suffering bestially, in the contrary case the arbitrary, greatest mistreatment accountable before no worldly court! Even the killing of a slave, if it is done by his master, is subject to no legal punishment! Only if your neighbor killed one of your slaves, would he be obligated to compensate you.
4
And see, this misery of humanity is and still remains a result of that era of Egypt in which humanity was generally wise to a high degree and very well-to-do and nobody had to suffer any punishment for a committed sin, because nobody really had even the smallest reason to sin against his neighbor, because everyone had so much of all that was needed to live, and did not need to go to his neighbor for anything for years! But when slavery emerged, laws were invented according to which a slave owner could never sin against his slaves, no matter how cruel he was. What should penance be good for, where no sins can be committed?!"